Dallas County elections administrator Bruce Sherbet said today that Dallas school elections will cost more under a proposal to extend trustee term lengths from three to four years. Trustees will vote on the extension Thursday.

Dallas ISD trustees are considering a proposal that would allow them to hold their elections every other year on the uniform November election date, beginning in 2012, instead of annually in May.

The change would require DISD elections to be held during even-numbered years, putting them on the ballot with Dallas County and high-turnout presidential and gubernatorial races. Currently, DISD races share a ballot with the city of Dallas, Dallas County Community College District and Dallas County Schools.

Sherbet said that presidential and gubernatorial races cost a lot more to put on because of much higher turnout and that fewer entities share the cost, which is why he said it will cost DISD more to make the move. DISD and the county would be the only two entities sharing the cost in November even-numbered years, he said.

"You have a lot more supplies, a lot more personnel -- it's a huge production," Sherbet said of the November election. "There's no question, it's going to cost them more."

Sherbet had not performed cost estimates and didn't want to wade into exactly how much more it would cost. But he said "there's no question that the cost of holding elections will be higher in November even-number years."

The turnout for November elections on even-numbered years is also higher -- over 50 percent -- compared to about 10 percent for DISD races held each year in May.

Sherbet's comments on this issue is obviously interesting as some trustees have pointed to saving the district money as a main reason for moving to four-year terms. Their thinking was that they'd be holding elections every other year instead of annually, which would save money. But that's not the case, according to Sherbet.

More information: Sherbet said it's possible that the DISD races could be forgotten on the November ballot with the popularity of straight-ticket voting. Some people forget about the non-partisan items down ballot, he said.